A significant portion of broadcast station programming (radio and television) may be devoted for reporting on traffic conditions. In larger cities, traffic reports are broadcast frequently throughout each day of the week. As much as ten percent of a typical morning radio station programming may be devoted to traffic reporting. Some broadcast stations use traffic reporting to distinguish themselves from other broadcast stations as a way to lure listeners or viewers.
Broadcast stations currently get their information from either a central traffic clearinghouse and/or flying aircraft. The aircraft are either fixed-wing planes or helicopters that fly over particular regions of a city. There are at least two problems inherent in traffic clearinghouses and aircraft reporting. First, clearinghouses and aircraft reporting only provide traffic conditions for selected highways and streets of a city. Thus, some streets or portions of a street having heavy traffic demand may go unnoticed by the aircraft and may not be reported because of the limited broadcast time available for traffic reports. Second, aircraft traffic reports become stale more often because it may not be updated frequently enough to provide a more accurate picture of the current traffic conditions. Stale traffic reports may result in drivers entering areas experiencing heavy traffic occurring in streets and intersections not covered by the aircraft or clearinghouses. These highly congested streets could be avoided if there was some way of notifying drivers of a better route. Accordingly, there is a significant need for a system and method that would supply current traffic conditions on some or all streets including highways within a city.